Railroad-tie.



No. 879,921. PATENTBD-FEB. 25, 1908 J. B.'SPERA & s. e. 0001mm.

RAILROAD TIE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31. 1907..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES B. SPERA, OF DILLSBURS, AND SAMUEL G. GOOKLIN, OF MEOHANICSBURG,

PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILROAD-TIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25, 1908.

Application filed May 31.1907. Serial No. 376589.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES B. SPERA, residing at Dillsburg, in thecounty of York and the State of Pennsylvania, and SAMUEL G. CooKLiN,residing at Mechanicsburg, in the county of Cumberland and State ofPennsylvania, both citizens of the United States, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Railroad-Ties, of which the following isa specification.

Our invention relates to railroad ties made of metal and has for itsobject the provision of boxes on the top of the tie with blocks offibrous material therein and with cap plates to cover the boxes, therails being secured by means of spikes secured through holes in the capplate and intothe blocks. may be equidistant from the middle of the tiebut we prefer to have the boxes at unequal distances from the middle andends of the tie so that the blocks of fibrous material may be taken outand reversed and thus offer a new place to drive the retaining spikes.

The construction and advantages of our improved railroad tie will bedescribed in detail hereinafter and illustrated in the accom panyingdrawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a fragment of a railroadbed showing our improved ties in position, Fig. 2, a plan view of one ofthe ties on an enlarged scale and showing the cap piece of one of theboxes removed, Fig. 3, a longitudinal sectional view of one of theboxes, and Fig. 4, a cross section.

In the drawings similar reference characters indicate correspondingparts throughout the several views.

Our improved tie consists of a metal base 1 of any desired constructionthe form shown in the drawings having a longitudinal rib 2 to strengthenit but any other form of tie may be substituted without departing fromthe spirit of our invention which consists in the provision of meanshereinafter described to secure the rails to the tie.

3 indicates a box at each side of the middle of the tie containing ablock 4 of wood or other fibrous material secured in position by meansof two bolts In practice the boxes 3 may be equidistant from the middleof the tie but our invention contemplates also the arrangement of theboxes at unequal distances from the middle of the tie so that The boxesafter the rails have been in position for a time and one of the ends ofthe blocks has become worn and broken from the spikes securing the railin position, the ties may be reversed end for end so as to offer a newsurface for the spikes.

To prevent water from getting to the block 4 we provide a cap plate 6for the box 3 having downwardly extending flanges 7. The top of the capplate 6 is provided with holes 8 to receive the spikes 9 for securingthe rails 10 in position.

The sides of box 3 are provided with upwardly extending tongues 11 thatfit into depressions 12 in flanges 7 so that the track walker inobserving how closely the u per ends of the tongues 11 and the ends 0depressions 12 are together can determine how the block 4 in the box iswearing. The top of the plate 6 is provided with a projection 13 toengage the outer edge of the base of rail 10.

Having thus described our invention what we claim is lfIn a railroadtie, a metal base, boxes supported by said base and at une ual distances from the middle thereof, b ocks of fibrous material in saidboxes, and means to secure the rails to said blocks, substantially asshown and described.

2. In a railroad tie, a metal base, boxes supported by said base and atune ual distances from the middle thereof, b iocks of fibrous materialin said boxes, cap plates on to of said boxes, and means to secure therails through said cap plates and to the blocks, substantially as shownand described.

3. In a railroad tie, a metal base, boxes supported by said base and atunequal distances from the middle thereof, blocks of fibrous material insaid boxes, cap plates on top of said boxes having holes therein, andspikes inserted through said holes in the cap plate and into the fibrousblock to secure the rails in position, substantially as shown anddescribed.

In testimony whereof we hereto afiix our signatures in the presence oftwo witnesses.

JAMES B. SPERA. s. e. cocxnnv.

Witnesses:

JNo. M. UNDERWOOD, JOHN C. HOOPER.

